Rescue
by JDP
Summary: Ash is missing, and Misty sets out to find him, only to find herself in danger.


Foreword

bThe "Rescue"/b

The forest on the outskirts of Cerulean City is silent in the dead of night. Even the nocturnal pokemon who reside in it aren't active. However, there is movement within the trees, or rather below the branches.

From out of nowhere, a cry echos through the forest from out of nowhere. "Pika-CHU!!" Immediately following the cry was a burst of lightning, and a small explosion of smoke and dust within the trees.

"Run Pikachu! Run!" Ash's voice called out.

"Don't let that Pikachu escape!" a deep voice ordered.

The yellow electric pokemon leaped through the bushes, two Houndoom close at his heels. Pikachu raced through the forest, searching for a way to escape his pursuers.

One of the houndoom snarled and breathed a flamethrower at Pikachu, who barely jumped out of the way of the flames. He found a nearby tree and scrambled up it, the Houndoom close behind. Fortunately, they were unable to follow, and snarled in frusturation.

Panting, Pikachu sat on a branch to catch his breath, looking down at the pokemon below, who were starting to jump at him, coming inches from the branch he was on.

"Pika!" he shouted, and then fired a thunderbolt at them, shocking them. While they recovered, he moved higher up the tree and across a large branch to the adjacent tree. The Houndoom below looked up and barked in confusion, searching for their prey.

A dark figure walked up behind them. Seeing that his pokemon had lost their target, he growled. He held up two pokeballs. "Houndoom return!" he snarled. The two pokemon went into their pokeballs.

He looked into the trees a final time before turning away. He'll have to find that Pikachu later.

Meanwhile, the pokemon he was chasing was on the ground, running as fast as he could, not knowing that his pursuers had given up. He stopped to take a breath, and looked behind him. Seeing that they weren't chasing him anymore, he panted heavily and collasped on the ground, exhausted. Still breathing heavily, he closed his eyes, and became unconscious.

The sun shone on the riverbank just outside Cerulean City. It was nearly noon, and the sun was close to its peak. The temperature was perfect for swimming.

And that's just what Misty was doing right now with her pokemon.

Sitting on the riverbank was the orange haired gym leader, taking a break from all the fuss of the Cerulean City gym, and just relaxing. Wearing her yellow bikini, she was watching her water pokemon swim in the water. They also had a few guests with them. She had asked Professor Oak if she could borrow Ash's water pokemon and train them in case Ash wanted to use them in one of his battles. Both Ash and Professor Oak had agreed to her offer, so the professor sent her Ash's Kingler, Totodile, and Corphish.

That was a week ago. She had used them in battles against trainers who challenged her, and they obeyed her commands. They did good in their battles -after all, they bwere/b Ash's pokemon!- and she figured they could all use a break. So she decided to come here for the day. It was nice and private, no other trainers to interrupt their playing. Just the way she wanted it...

Totodile walked up to Misty, and jumped up and down, growling excitedly.

"What is it?" she asked. Totodile growled again. Misty smiled. "You want me to play with you?" The pokemon growled again and jumped up into the air, excited. "All right," she said, standing up and running into the water where all the other pokemon were. "Let's go!"

Pikachu's eyes slowly opened. Still exhausted from the previous night, he was woken up by loud noises nearby. Slowly standing up, he walks towards the sounds. He peeks his head through the bushes, and sees lots of water pokemon playing in the water. His ears perk up with curiosity. He'd seen these pokemon before. Then he recognizes a orange haired girl swimming amongst them.

Misty!

He calls out, but they don't seem to notice. He gets on all fours, and moves towards them quickly, but he doesn't have the strength. He collapses on the ground, and whines quietly in pain, closing his eyes.

Psyduck notices Pikachu coming out of the bushes. Staying on land, since he's still afraid of the water since he can't swim, he walks over to Pikachu, looking at him with those dull eyes. For several moments, he stares at him. He looks familiar...

"Psy?" he says, cocking his head to the side, examining Pikachu from a different angle for whatever odd reason.

All the other pokemon were playing water gun tag, which was like tag except they had to hit the other pokemon with a water gun rather than their own body. Water was splashing everywhere. Misty laughed as she attempted to dodge the water attacks that flew from out of nowhere. She always seemed to be tagged before anyone else.

In the midst of all the playing, Totodile notices Psyduck staying on land. Wanting to play with the duck pokemon, he hops out of the water and races over to him, growling with excitement. Psyduck ignores him and continues to look at Pikachu.

Totodile then notices Pikachu. He growls curiousy, and pokes Pikachu with his claw, which wakes him up. Pikachu looks up at Psyduck and Totodile.

"Pi.." he says weakly with a smile, recognizing his old friends.

Totodile squaks excitedly as he recognizes Pikachu as well. He's so loud, he attracts a lot of attention from the others, including Misty.

"Hmm? Totodile, what is it?" she asks, getting out of the water. Walking over to the two pokemon, she notices Pikachu. "Hey look, a Pikachu! It looks hurt..."

She kneels down and strokes Pikachu's ears, knowing how to do it so she doesn't get electrified. Pikachu looks at her with a smile, which confuses Misty. It looks so familiar...

"I better get you to a Pokemon Center little guy." She picks up Pikachu, and cradles him in her arms. Pikachu smiles, and looks up at Misty. "You look familiar..." she says. She looks at Totodile, who's jumping up and down in excitement, as if he knew this Pikachu.

Looking at Pikachu again, she recognizes his eyes. A year or two of spending almost every minute around a pokemon means you would recognize them easily, and eyes were one thing that was the most easily recognized.

"Pikachu?" she asked, her face closer to his. "Is it you?"

Nodding, Pikachu reached up and licked her face as a sign that he knew her.

"Wh-where's Ash?" She began to get worried. The two of them were inseparable. Something bad must have happened.

"Pi...ka..." Misty saw terror in his eyes as he breathed deeply. Tears started to form in his eyes. She knew something was wrong. Pikachu winced in pain.

"We've got to get you to a Pokemon Center right away!"

Having changed back into her normal clothes, Misty stood outside the window, looking inside as Nurse Joy took care of Pikachu. She was really worried. If Pikachu was this hurt and alone, something had to have happened to Ash that separated them. And that look in his eyes... She had never seen that before. Something terrible must have happened to Ash. Thinking about it, her eyes started to get a little misty.

The door opened next to her, and Nurse Joy walked out.

"Is Pikachu going to be okay?" Misty asked immediately.

"He's taken a lot of injuries, but he'll be just fine," Nurse Joy responded. She looked back at Pikachu. "I've never seen such injuries on a pokemon before..."

"I know." Misty looked back at Pikachu as well. As soon as he was able to leave the Pokemon Center, she would go out and find Ash.

She stood there for a long time, looking at Pikachu and thinking.

It was several hours before Pikachu left the Pokemon Center. He seemed healthier and stronger, which made Misty happy. However, she had to find Ash, and quick. She took Pikachu, and the two of them walked back to where she found him.

"Okay Pikachu. Do you remember where Ash was when you last saw him?"

"Pika!" Pikachu ran into the forest, Misty close behind. He stopped at the place where he collasped last night and looked around, sniffing the air. He then suddenly ran off into the bushes again, and Misty followed.

For several minutes, they ran through the bushes, Pikachu stopping every once in a while to examine the surroundings. Finally, he stopped at the spot where he was when Ash told him to run.

"What is it Pikachu?" Misty asked, looking around. Pikachu was silent, and he looked around.

There was a tree nearby. He recognized it as the place where Ash was. Next to him were three dark figures wearing black outfits, who were trying to figure out what to do with him.

Around that time, Pikachu managed to escape from the cage he was in. He had used iron tail, and then shocked the Houndoom guarding him with a powerful bolt of lightning. That's when Ash told him to run, and the Houndoom chased after him.

But they all seemed to be long gone now.

"Pikachu!" he cried out suddenly, hoping to get some response from Ash, if he was even nearby. But there wasn't one. He called out again, but with no response.

Misty watched as Pikachu cried out to no avail. This was probably the place where it all happened, but it didn't seem like he'd be here or anywhere around here. She frowned, knowing that his cries wouldn't work. She kneeled down next to Pikachu and said, "Pikachu?"

Pikachu stopped calling out when she said that.

"Is this where you got split up?"

"Pi..." was all the pokemon said sadly.

"Hmm..." Misty said. She looked around the area, trying to figure out what to do next. As she did, she noticed something in the bushes. A pokemon?

"Hello?" she asked, standing up. "Who's there?"

There was a snarl from the bushes as two Houndoom jumped from the bushes. Pikachu immediately jumped up, and shouted at them. The Houndoom snarled and breathed a flamethrower at them. Misty screamed and jumped backwards just in time. So did Pikachu who fired a thunderbolt at them, blasting them back.

"Why are you attacking us?!" Misty shouted at the fire pokemon. As if in response, one of the Houndoom snarled and charged towards Misty. Just as it was about to attack her, Pikachu hit it in the jaw with an iron tail, and slamming it into a tree. It whined in pain from the attack. The second took Pikachu by surprise, and bit into his body, causing him to cry in pain.

"Pikachu!" Misty shouted, and reached for her pokeballs. But before she could summon a pokemon, something grabbed her arms from behind, pinning them behind her back. "Hey!" she shouted as she felt her hands being tied with what seemed to be rope. She looked over at Pikachu who was being thrown around like a rag doll by the Houndoom. "Pikac-" she started, but then a piece of cloth went over her mouth, which muffled the rest of her words. She struggled, but started to become weaker. There was something in the cloth. Some sort of drug. Everything seemed to move slower, and then it all went black.

Misty woke up in the forest, sitting on the ground against a tree. Her hands were tied behind her back, and so were her ankles. She looked around, and saw Pikachu in a cage a few feet away. He was bruised and battered, and seemed to be bleeding on his back.

"Pikachu?" she asked. Pikachu barely moved in response. "Are you okay?"

"He'll be okay," a man's voice said. She turned in surprise, and saw three men wearing black outfits standing in front of her, with the Houndoom standing next to them. "If I were you, I'd worry about yourself."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"We have no name," one of the other men said. "We like to keep ourselves a secret. By the way, thanks for the pokemon." He gave her a wink.

Misty looked down at her belt, and noticed that her pokemon were gone. They were pokemon thieves.

"Give me back my pokemon!" she demanded.

"Sorry, can't do that sweeheart," the first man said. "Those pokemon are worth some dough!"

Misty growled, and then looked over at Pikachu again.

"What did you do with Ash?!" she shouted, looking at the thieves.

"You mean that Pikachu's trainer?" the third man said. "Oh, you don't have to worry about him anymore."

"What do you mean?" Misty asked with a now worried look on his face.

"We took care of him just a couple hours ago."

"What?" Misty was frightened. Did they mean...? No. No, it can't be! "You're lying!" she shouted.

"It's the truth I'm afraid," the second man said. "And I believe its your turn." He walked up to Misty, and grabbed her by the arm, lifting her up.

"Let go of me!" she shouted, trying to get away from these murderers. But he held on tight. She kept shouting at them and pulling.

"What should we do with her?" he asked the other two.

"First of all, shut her up!" the first man said. "Her yelling's getting annoying. Just like that boy's." The third man pulled out a roll of duct tape, and ripped a piece off. He walked over to Misty, who turned her head, and managed to place the tape over her mouth nice and tight, despite her struggles. She shouted loudly underneath her gag, but it was muffled. Tears started to form in her eyes.

"How should we get rid of her?" the second asked.

"We hang 'er," the first said. Misty shouted, her eyes wide open. "Get the rope," he ordered the third thief, who listened immediately, grabbing some rope out of a pack that was sitting on the ground. He made a noose and threw it over an overhead branch.

Pikachu lifted his head up, exhausted. He looked at Misty and the thieves. He had to do something before they killed Misty. It was deja vu. The same situation happened last night, except last night, he failed. He managed to stand up, but had to lean against the bars.

"Pika!" he shouted at them angrily.

The first thief looked at Pikachu and said, "Ignore him. That cage is much stronger this time. He can't escape." He then turned back to Misty, and placed the noose around her neck.

Misty didn't fight. There was nothing she could do. She knew this. She thought of Ash, and how she would never see him again, unless there was some afterlife where they would both be reunited. She realized how much she loved him at that moment. She never showed it before, but she really loved him. She started to cry, tears flowing down her cheek.

The noose started to tighten.

Pikachu had to do something. He couldn't lose another one of his friends. He mustered the energy to start hitting the cage with iron tail. But the thief was right. The cage was fortified, making it harder for him to escape. He continued to hit it repeatedly.

"Stop that!" the first thief snapped at Pikachu. "Houndoom, stop him!" The Houndoom listened and jumped at the cage, rattling it, knocking Pikachu over.

"PIKA!" he shouted. He wasn't going to give up that easily. He hit the cage again with an iron tail, this time hitting one of the Houndoom on the snout with a crack. It howled in pain and backed off.

The noose got tighter around Misty's neck, who was sobbing quietly. The thief continued to pull downwards on the rope.

Pikachu hit the bars as hard as he could with an iron tail, and broke one of the bars. However, it wasn't enough for him to fit through. One of the Houndoom snarled, sticking its snout right into the cage, snapping at him.

Misty was starting to lose her footing on the ground below her. It was hard to breathe now, and she started to panic.

Pikachu shouted and hit the second Houndoom with an iron tail, breaking its jaw just like the other one. It howled and jumped backwards.

"Why you!" the first thief snarled at Pikachu. He walked over to the cage and kicked it, rolling it over. Pikachu tumbled within the cage, banging against the bars. But he wasn't about to give up. He hit the cage with an iron tail, and finally managed to break the bars, setting him free. He jumped out of the cage, and looked at the thieves.

Misty had now completely lost her footing, the noose as tight as could be around her neck. She was gasping for breath, her legs kicking rapidly, and her face turning purple, her eyes wide open.

The other two thieves were running towards Pikachu.

Pikachu backed up a bit and then charged towards them at full speed. His body started to glow with electricity, and he tackled the two thieves, throwing them towards the injured Houndoom. He didn't stop then. He rammed into the pile of bodies, and then ran forward, knocking them into the third thief who was holding Misty in the air with the rope. They were all shocked with electricity, and Pikachu rammed them into a tree, causing a massive explosion of electicity.

The thief that was holding the rope released it, and Misty tumbled to the ground, the noose's grip loosened just enough for her to breathe. Her face started to turn back to normal.

The smoke cleared, and the three thieves and the Houndoom laid next to the remains of a destroyed tree, lifeless. The electricity that surged through their bodies, as well as the impact of the volt tackle was too much for any human to withstand. Even though the Houndoom could take more damage, they were already wounded from previous battles with Pikachu and weren't able to withstand it.

Standing in front of them was Pikachu, who was panting heavily. That attack took a lot out of him, and he was near to collasping. He looked over at Misty, who laid on the ground. He slowly walked over, expecting the worst. He may have been too late in his attack. Fortunately, he was not, as when he got there, he saw that she was breathing normally. He untied the binds on her wrists and looked her over.

"Pika..." he said quietly, rubbing his snout against her head. She looked up at him with watery eyes. Sitting up, she ripped off the tape gag, took the loosened noose off her neck, and took a deep breath.

Then she started to cry again, sobbing loudly, placing her face in her hands. Ash was gone! She was too late. If only she had found them a few hours sooner... There was nothing she could do about it. The memories raced through her mind: from the moment she first met Ash to the last time she saw him. They had gone through a lot together, and she had grown close to him. Much closer than he knew.

Pikachu nudged her gently, trying to comfort her. She lifted her head and looked at him. He too had tears in his eyes, now that he knew what had happened to Ash. She stared at him for a moment, realizing that Pikachu was probably one of the last things she had to remind her of Ash. He felt the same pain as well. He had been with Ash since the day they first met. They were like brothers, maybe even closer. With tears in her eyes, she extended her arms for Pikachu to come in.

Crying softly, Pikachu crawled into her arms, and curled up. For a long while, the two of them sat there, sobbing.

Misty stopped crying for a moment, and wiped away some of her tears. "Well, we better get going Pikachu..."

"Pikachu..." the yellow pokemon nodded. Misty bent over and untied her ankles, and then stood up, carrying Pikachu with her. She went to the sack that the thieves had and found her pokeballs, and Ash's pokeballs too. Tears flowing down her cheeks, she picked up the sack, put it on her shoulders, and headed back to Cerulean City.


End file.
